Smart Tools for Total Flexo Quality Management

Transcription

1 Smart Tools for Total Flexo Quality Management Quality Engineering Associates (QEA), Inc. Quality Engineering Associates (QEA), Inc. 99 South Bedford Street Burlington, Massachusetts USA Tel: Fax:

2 Flexo Quality Management Tools from QEA Flexo IAS - An all-in-one toolbox for transmissive read on film, mask, and plate; as well as reflective readings on print FlexoLite - For transmissive read on film and plate Flexo-M - For reflective read on CTP sleeve and mask; ITR (In-the-Round) products, metalbacked plate, and direct laser engraved plate and sleeve

3 Benefits Portable Handheld design for measurements anytime, anywhere! User-friendly Live images with touch-screen user interface for quick and easy operation! Critical Data Critical information such as dot%, line screen, and screen angle enable quality control BEYOND density and color! Variable Plate Size and Characters Freedom to measure anywhere on a plate and different plate thickness, color, and materials! Stand-alone Use or Interface with PC Built-in system for independent use or link with PC for data and image transfer via USB connection! and The Ability to Control the ENTIRE Flexo Workflow!

4 The Design High magnification (5µm/pixel) digital microscope with a color CCD. Builtin illumination or external backlight comes with different models. USB and serial interface with PC allows easy transfer of data and images. Powered by Windows CE based Pocket PC with built-in advanced image analysis software for objective measurement of image quality.

5 Flexo IAS and FlexoLite Measurement Procedure Place the measurement sample over the backlight of a Flexo IAS or FlexoLite Position the tool over the area of interest Make a measurement using the built-in software Flexo-M

6 User Interface A live video image is displayed while the user positions the device. Analysis is initiated by tapping one of the measurement buttons. The user defines a region of interest or initiate a point-topoint measurement on the touch screen. A single frame of the object is captured and enhanced with overlays to highlight features. Numerical results are displayed immediately on the main screen.

7 Measurement Results

8 How Can I Use the Measurement Results? Incoming QC Characterize incoming materials! Fingerprinting Establish profiles of press, ink and accessories! Problem Solving Trace down the source of a printing problem based on comparative results! Process Control Monitor the quality from film, plate to the final print! Research & Development Improve process time and product quality based on established measurement results! Marketing & Benchmarking Compare the quality of your product against your competitor s!

9 Let s Take a Look at Some Application Examples

10 Dot Gain Analysis of A Digital Plate Original Image Tint Value = 50% Analyzed Image Dot % = 37.96% A Dot Shrinkage of 12.04%!

11 Dot Gain Analysis of A Digital Plate Plate Dot% Dot% Input

12 Other Analysis Results 50% Mean Stdev Dot% Lines/in Screen Angle Area (µm²) Diameter (µm) Perimeter (µm) Circularity Box Ratio Number of Dots 17

13 A Digital Mask Example

14 Quantifying Both the Mask & Plate Can Provide Useful Insight Mask Dot: 8% Plate Dot: 2% A Dot Shrinkage of 6%!

15 A Film Example Using the UGRA Plate Control Wedge 60 lines/cm Halftone Wedge

16 This Example Demonstrates the Accuracy in Film Dot% Measurements Flexo IAS Dot % y = x R 2 = URGA Dot %

17 How About Difficult-to to-measure Substrates Such As Sleeves and Metal-backed Plates? These substrates are analyzed using an innovative reflective lighting technology built-in the Flexo-M

18 A Newsprint Plate Example 10% 30% 40% 60% 80% 90%

19 A Dot Gain Comparison between Newsprint Plate and Print Plate Print Dot % Tone Value, %

20 Let s Talk about Print Quality Analysis Print Quality can be measured using the Flexo IAS system, enabling you one more level of control!

21 The Flexo IAS Offers Control Beyond Density and Color! QEA Flexo IAS a Glossmeter + a Spectrophotometer

22 What Can I Measure with the Flexo IAS? Glossmeter Flexo IAS Spectrophotometer E. N. Dalal, et al., "Evaluating the Overall Image Quality of Hardcopy Output," Proc IS&T's PICS, May 17-20, 1998, pp

23 Examples of Dot Analysis

24 Dot Gain Analysis of the Final Print Original Image Tint Value = 30% Analyzed Image Dot % = 31.5% A Dot Gain of 1.5%!

25 Area Coverage Analysis of Hybrid & Stochastic Screens Original Image Analyzed Image (Magenta Dots) Dot% = 5.9% Dot Size = 44.1µm

26 Quantifying Pin-holes (Fisheyes) A A B No. of Pinholes Diameter (µm) Area (µm 2 ) Perimeter (µm) Box Ratio Circularity B

27 How About Line Quality?

28 Bleed Analysis & Media Benchmarking Media A Media B Stroke Density OD Stroke Width µm Stroke Raggedness 6 18 µm Stroke Blurriness µm Media B has lower stroke density, and wider stroke width due to wicking (bleed). Also greater raggedness, and blurriness.

29 Text Quality Analysis Line Quality Attributes Pos Line Neg Line Line Width, µm Lead Blur µm Trail Blur, µm Lead Rag, µm Trail Rag, µm Density OD Fill

30 Barcode Quality Analysis A B Reflectance Profile: Reflectance (%) Line A Line B Line Width µm Lead Blur µm Trail Blur µm Lead Rag µm Trail Rag µm Density OD Contrast Fill Position (mm)

31 Intercolor Bleed Measurement (or Trap Analysis) Black on Cyan Line width = µm Cyan on Black Line width = 878.2µm Average Intercolor Bleed = ( ) / 4 = 62.6µm

32 Color Registration Measurement Mis-registration = = -145µm

33 Examples of Area Analysis

34 Density & Color Measurements and Quantification of Non-Uniformity Due to Imperfect Ink Transfer K C M Y Density L* a* b* Graininess (%) Mottle (%)

35 Density & Tone Reproduction Analysis Tone Reproduction Curves Optical Density Film Glossy Coated Matte Coated Plain Paper Tint %

36 Graininess Measurement Printer A Printer B Graininess = Graininess numbers show Printer A to be much less grainy than Printer B

37 Mottle & Coalescence Measurement Media A Media B Mottle 250µm = Mottle values show Media A to be more uniform than Media B

38 Summary

39 QEA Tools Allow You To Assure Quality from Start to Finish! Improve Your Product Quality! Save Time and Reduce Waste! Keep Your Customers Happy!

40 The Right Tools for the Complete Flexo Process Flow Complete analysis for Proofs Films Plates Prints

41 For more information, contact: Dr. Ming-Kai Tse,